It was the best selling game of the Driver series and an evolution of the freedom to explore a city as brought forth in the early Grand Theft Auto games. Driver 2 [ edit ] Main article: Driver 2. This is a list of 100 of the greatest PS2 games ever released. Top 100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books 99 Classic Books Challenge BBC's Top 100 Books You Need to Read Before You Die 101 Best Selling Books of All Time. 100 Things to Do Before You Die 76 Best Board Games of All Time Top 100 K-Dramas The Ultimate List of Disney.

Driver is a video game series developed by Reflections Interactive (now Ubisoft Reflections), and originally published by GT Interactive, later by Atari and now by Ubisoft. The gameplay consists of a mixture of action-adventure and driving in open world environments. Since the series began in 1999, there have been five main installments released.

As of August 2011, the series has sold more than 16 million units worldwide.^[2]

• 1Games
• 3Related games

Games[edit]

Driver[edit]

The first game of the Driver series was released for the PlayStation on 25 June 1999 in Europe and 30 June in the U.S. It was later released for Game Boy Color in April 2000, Windows in September 2000, Mac in December 2000, and iOS in December 2009. In the game, the player controls a former racecar driver turned undercover police detective named John Tanner. It featured a storyline inspired by 1960's/70's car chase movies such as Bullitt (1968) and The Driver (1978) and based in four real-life cities; Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City. It was the best selling game of the Driver series and an evolution of the freedom to explore a city as brought forth in the early Grand Theft Auto games.

Driver 2[edit]

The second installment in the Driver series was released for the PlayStation on 13 November 2000 in the U.S. by Infogrames (now known as Atari), and later ported to the Game Boy Advance on 4 October 2002 in the U.S. It featured detective John Tanner once more, along with a new partner, detective Tobias Jones, in four more real-life cities (Chicago, Havana, Las Vegas, and Rio de Janeiro). It was the first game in the series to feature 2-player modes, curved roads, and the ability to get out of the car at any time (apart from while being in a pursuit from the police) in order to steal another car on the street.

Driver 3[edit]

The third installment in the Driver series was released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox on 21 June 2004 in the U.S. to generally mixed or poor reviews (despite new features such as the ability to use firearms). The game takes place in Miami, Nice and Istanbul. It was subsequently followed by versions for Windows, and Game Boy Advance.^[21] Reflections later paid notice to the complaints about the insipid story line, poor controls, and abundance of glitches in order to improve the series' standings with critics and gamers in Driver: Parallel Lines.

Driver: Parallel Lines[edit]

The fourth game in the series, Driver: Parallel Lines, was released 14 March 2006 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox in the U.S., and 26 June 2007 for Windows and Wii in the U.S. Reflections intended Parallel Lines to 'return the series to its roots' by focusing more on driving.

The game differs greatly in other aspects from its predecessors, though, as the story no longer follows undercover police officer Tanner and the game takes place in only one location, New York City. The new main player's name is TK, a criminal rather than a cop. The game includes two time periods, 1978 and 2006, when the main player is sentenced to prison for 28 years and returns in 2006. The game received better reviews, but unlike Driver 3, did not sell particularly well.

Driver 76[edit]

Driver 76 is a PlayStation Portable game in the Driver series. Set in New York City in 1976, two years before the events in the first half of Driver: Parallel Lines, the player takes the role of Ray, TK's friend and a supporting character from Parallel Lines. The game was developed by Sumo Digital and Reflections, and was the first Driver game published by Ubisoft after they acquired Reflections. It was released on 8 May 2007 in the U.S.

Driver: San Francisco[edit]

The fifth Driver game was long rumored to be in production.^[22][23][24] After several years of speculation, Ubisoft unveiled Driver: San Francisco at E3 2010. After several delays, it was released on 1 September 2011 in Australia.

The game takes place in one location, San Francisco, and follows the series protagonist, Tanner, being in a coma after suffering an accident. Thus, the player controls Tanner during his coma dream.^[25] The plot of the Wii version of Driver: San Francisco is completely different from the other versions. It is a prequel to the events of the original Driver.

For the game, developers decided to remove the ability to get out of a car in order to steal another car on the street. Instead, they created a new mechanic called 'Shift', enabling the players to shift to any car at any time.

The game received generally positive reviews, getting the highest ratings in the whole series after Driver. Like Driver 3, it sold particularly well.

Driver: Renegade 3D[edit]

A Nintendo 3DS game, Driver: Renegade 3D follows John Tanner trying to take down the New York City crime mobs. It was released in 2011.

Driver: Speedboat Paradise[edit]

A free-to-play smartphone game released on iOS and Android in December 2014. The game, which makes use of in-app purchases, revolves solely around missions on speedboats.^[26]

Novels[edit]

Driver: Nemesis, a novel written by Alex Sharp, was published in 2010 to coincide with the release of Driver: San Francisco. The novel is a sequel to Driver 2 and a prequel to the events of Driver: San Francisco, taking place at some point before Hurricane Katrina.^[27] The story follows John Tanner's undercover infiltration to a crime network in New Orleans. It features several characters from the first two games and provides additional backstory for Tanner's life prior to becoming a member of law enforcement.

Related games[edit]

Driver: Vegas (released in 2006) and Driver: LA Undercover (released in 2007) are two mobile games featuring John Tanner. Vegas features his exploits in Las Vegas in an attempt to exact revenge on Charles Jericho after Driver 3, while LA Undercover, set two years later, features Tanner's exploits in Los Angeles to take down the Los Angeles Mafia by working his way up the ladder.

C.O.P. The Recruit[edit]

On 3 November 2009, Ubisoft released C.O.P. The Recruit for Nintendo DS. It was originally registered under numerous names, one of which being 'Driver: The Recruit'.^[28]

Watch Dogs[edit]

The Disrupt engine for Watch Dogs was originally intended for a different game focused on driving, potentially in the Driver franchise.^[29][30]

Ubisoft Reflections staff who had previously worked on Driver: San Francisco and Driver: Parallel Lines, were working with Ubisoft Montreal on the development of Watch Dogs.^[31]

Film adaptation[edit]

In February 2002, Impact Pictures, the production team of Paul W. S. Anderson and Jeremy Bolt, announced that it had acquired the film and TV rights to adapt the Atari video game Driver. Screenwriters James DeMonaco, Todd Jason Harthan, and James Roday were developing a script at the time. Impact Pictures had originally intended to produce the film Driver to coincide with the release of the video game Driver 3.^[32] The following November, Impact Pictures announced its plans to produce a $50 million adaptation of Driver after wrapping up principal photography on Resident Evil: Apocalypse.^[33] In April 2006, Rogue Pictures acquired the film rights to Driver from Impact Pictures and Constantin Films, the production companies responsible for the Resident Evil film franchise. Roger Avary replaced the original screenwriters in writing the script for Driver, as well as directing the film.^[34]

Prior to January 2007, Driver, having a budget of $48 million, was slated to shoot at Cinespace Studios' MT28 lot in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Due to a waterfront revitalization project, the studio was forced to move and the film was put on hold.^[35] In May 2009, the movie script was leaked on the internet.^[36][37]

References[edit]

1. ^'Martin Edmondson'. Giant Bomb. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
2. ^'At a glance'. Ubisoft. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
3. ^'Driver: You are the Wheelman Reviews'. GameRankings. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
4. ^'Driver Reviews'. GameRankings. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
5. ^'Driver Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
6. ^'Driver 2 Advance Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
7. ^'Driver 2 Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
8. ^'Driv3r Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
9. ^'Driv3r Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
10. ^'Driv3r Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
11. ^'Driver: Parallel Lines Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
12. ^'Driver: Parallel Lines Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
13. ^'Driver: Parallel Lines Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
14. ^'Driver: Parallel Lines Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
15. ^'Driver '76 Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
16. ^'Driver: San Francisco Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
17. ^'Driver: San Francisco Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
18. ^'Driver: San Francisco Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
19. ^'Driver: San Francisco Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
20. ^'Driver: Renegade Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
21. ^Driver 3 speeds onto the GBA - Game Boy Advance News at GameSpot
22. ^'Atari sells Reflections'. Archived from the original on 4 April 2009.
23. ^'How a computer game is made'. BBC. 18 June 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
24. ^'UK games industry needs brains'. BBC. 18 June 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
25. ^'Driver: San Francisco coming to 360, PS3, Wii and PC'. Joystiq. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
26. ^https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-04-09-driver-speedboat-paradise-is-out-now-on-mobile-devices
27. ^Sharp, Alex (2010). Driver: Nemesis. London: Transworld Books. p. 7. ISBN9780552163965.
28. ^'E3 2009: C.O.P. The Recruit – Driver's little brother?'. One Last Continue. 2 June 2009. Archived from the original on 12 November 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
29. ^'Watch Dogs' Engine Was Originally Built for Driver'. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
30. ^'The Secrets Behind Watch Dogs' Next Gen Experience'. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
31. ^'Driver: San Francisco dev collaborating with Ubi Montreal on Watch Dogs'. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
32. ^Linder, Brian (3 February 2003). 'Games to Film: Infogrames' Driver Makes Impact'. IGN. Archived from the original on 8 December 2006. Retrieved 18 October 2006.
33. ^Gaudiosi, John (3 November 2003). 'Game filmer keeps on driving'. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 19 September 2004. Retrieved 18 October 2006.
34. ^John Callaham (19 April 2006). 'EXCLUSIVE: Roger Avary To Write And Direct Driver Movie'. FiringSquad. Retrieved 13 February 2007.
35. ^Tim Lai (12 January 2007). 'Film industry flickers as studio closes'. Toronto Star. Retrieved 18 January 2007.
36. ^Griffin McElroy (23 May 2009). 'Rumor: Partial script for Driver film adaptation leaked'. Joystiq. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
37. ^Ryan Davis (27 May 2009). 'Driver Script Leak Surfaces'. Giant Bomb. Retrieved 26 December 2009.

External links[edit]

Last updated

Let's get this out of the way right now. The PlayStation 2 was (and is) the best video game console of all time. Yeah, things have got fancier and slicker and yes, gaming has come on leaps and bounds... but there's a reason why it is still the best-selling console of all time and none of the newer consoles have managed to overtake it in sales in the last 17 years.

It's not all about fancy specifications and new tech - gaming is about how it makes you feel. Yeah, it's cheesy but I don't care.

What memories of gaming make you smile? Was it the hours you put into Crash Bandicoot with your mates riding the back of the polar bear? Or was it the chest of drawers you punched in after losing at FIFA 16? Yeah... exactly.

Over 150 million PS2s have been sold. And when you think about the fact that the UK has just over 64 million people living in it - it really puts it into perspective.

But why was it so ridiculously and massively popular?

Some may say that it hit that sweet spot between TV and social media. iPads and smart phones weren't a thing, but telly made us think that playing outside wasn't actually all that great.

I decided to reach out to you lot to find out if any of you agree with me and if so, why you think it's the best console of all time...

Craig Dower said: 'It had a more memorable game library, and it was certainly the most popular with the amazing value of a console-DVD combo.

'I would personally say that the original PlayStation was a much more important console, having been a direct fuck you to Sony's collapsing deal with Nintendo, and an amazing start for a company's first console.

'They didn't 3DO it or anything, and created a legacy for Sony with their company's financials today propped up directly by their PlayStation division.

'There were so many weird and awesome games on the PlayStation as well: Crash, Spyro, Oddworld, Wipeout, Gran Turismo, Driver, Kurushi, LSD, Carmageddon, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, PaRappa, Croc, Dance Dance Revolution, Grand Theft Auto, Gex, Medal of Honor, Need for Speed, Point Blank, Ridge Racer, Rollcage, Hot Wheels, Rayman...'

Tom Mackinder added: 'PS2 was the best console because its online was terrible. So it forced people to play games at each other's houses rather than online, meaning kids had normal interactions rather than online ones.'

He has a fair point: these days it's more about online gaming than all shuffling in front of your mate's telly and swapping controllers. No longer do we have the fight over who gets the better controller or who's player 1... we all just do it from the comfort of our own homes. We are all player 1. Deep, right?

Michael Tomlinson added: 'I'd definitely say it was for me. I had a SNES then a PS1 before the PS2, but it was the PS2 that really got me into gaming.

'Most importantly, it gave me an education in music. Playing Vice City on PS2 gave me disco, funk and soul and Tony Hawk's Underground 1 and 2 gave me hip hop and other genres that I still love to this day.'

I have to agree. How much of your current music taste can you directly attribute back to games?! I'd say a fair bit.

Loads of us still have our PS2s and even took them to uni with us.

Hey, we know they're pretty much indestructible so why not?! Carmel Elliot explained why she loves it so much: 'PS2 had some of THE best games of all time. It had backwards compatibility so all the treasures of PS1 could still remain loved.

Best-selling Games For Kids

'There were so many games you could buy. You could turn it into a DVD player and it came with a special PlayStation DVD remote so you didn't need to use the controller. And there were some badass custom controllers you could buy... so yes. It was the best and I still have mine chilling on my desk at uni with me.'

Being able to play DVDs was so sick. It was everything in one.

However, I have to say that Emlyn Fuller summed it up beautifully: 'I've been gaming since the 80s and have owned every console in the day.

'I got one for my 21st birthday and IMO, PS2 was the greatest ever as far as games and a DVD player went.

'Technically it was brilliant, being able to play backwards compatible games to PS1 and it had some of the best games... Final Fantasy X, Soul Calibur II, Ratchet and Clank, Simpsons Hit and Run, GTA III, GTA Vice City and San Andreas.

Best-selling Board Games

'Nowadays, the consoles are incredibly powerful, but they usually lack high quality games, or at least ones that you would call classics, hence why there are so many remastered games available at the moment.

'Xbox One, in my opinion, struggles with amazing single player games, but its online system is fantastic and it has a good selection of games to play. Most of my friends play Xbox and I've never regretted buying one. I've actually had an Xbox since the original and each one (Original, 360 and One) have all been good.

'I returned back to PlayStation at the end of PS3's lifetime because I wanted the exclusive games, which have always been outstanding. The trend continued on to PS4 which I'm fairly new to.

'In short, PS2, easily the best console for the amount of great games it had, longevity and the technology it brought forward to current generation gaming.'

Let's be honest, PS2 is still a fucking great console and you can pick up games for it for 50p at second-hand shops. If you're not busting it out at least once a month, you're only harming yourself.

Featured Image Credit: Sony/Playstation

Ps2 Best Games List

Topics: Entertainment, video games, sony, PS2

Mel Ramsay

Ps2 Best Selling Games

Mel Ramsay is the Senior Journalist at PRETTY52 but has worked at LADbible Group as part of the LADbible editorial team since 2015. She started her career writing obituaries and funeral guides online. Since then, her work has been published in a wide variety of national and local news sites. She is part of the BBC's Generation project and has spoken about young people, politics and mental health on television, radio and online.